Life under Isis: As long as its enemies remain divided, the militants will not be defeated
March 19, 2015
Isis still rules most of the territories it captured last year in Iraq and Syria. It may no longer be expanding, but it is little diminished, despite 2,500 US air strikes hitting its military forces and economic infrastructure.
The much heralded offensive by some 25,000 Iraqi government forces aimed at recapturing the small city of Tikrit has ground to a halt over the past week, though US officials say the city is held by only a few hundred Isis fighters. The faltering assault, though it may ultimately succeed, bodes ill for plans to recapture the much larger city of Mosul later in the year.
The battle for Tikrit illustrates one of the great strengths of Isis: the divisions of its many enemies.
In this case the attack force is made up of 20,000 Shia militia that are armed and directed by Iran. There are only 3,000 Iraqi army soldiers. The US says it is not supporting the advance with air strikes because it has not been asked to do so.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/life-under-isis-as-long-as-its-enemies-remain-divided-the-militants-will-not-be-defeated-10120917.html